We Won the War and Lost a Battle
by anthercrazyperson
Summary: A camper dies and Will locks himself in an infirmary room. Nico is the one who comforts him.


The pounding on the door of Cabin 13 startled Nico, and he dropped his book on the floor. Grumbling, he picked it up and put on his bed before going to open the door.

"Kayla. What's up?"

Kayla was one of Will's half siblings and had taken a shining to Nico when he had been stuck in the infirmary for three days.

"Will needs you to come to the infirmary."

"Okay. What for?"

"It's really important, and kinda urgent. Can I tell you while we walk?"

Nico agreed and quickly pulled on a pair of shoes.

"So what's this about?" Nico questioned as they hurried through Camp Halfblood and towards the Big House, which housed the infirmary.

"Well, long story short, there was a camper who was injured in the battle. She wasn't doing so well, she was in lot of pain, and today she died. Will did all he could to save her life, poured every bit of his magic into her but it didn't matter. She still died. I'm surprised Will didn't die too. He used so much magic. He's devastated about it and has locked himself in one of the overnight rooms for the healers. He refuses to come out. He won't even talk to any of us and we're all getting really worried. I thought maybe he would want to talk to you. Or that maybe you could get him to open the door, or at least say something."

They had arrived at the door to the infirmary and Kayla led Nico through the maze-like infirmary to a room.

"He's in there. Just please do your best."

"I'll try."

Kayla smiled softly. "Thanks. A lot. I'll just make sure no one comes down here." Then she was gone and it was just Nico, the door, and Will hopefully on the other side.

With a soft sigh, Nico sat down on the floor outside the door and crossed his legs. "Will? It's Nico. I heard what happened. I'm sorry about the girl. And I know I'm not really a role model for how to act after hearing someone has died." Nico paused for a minute, and he thought he could hear sniffles from inside the room. He was relieved. It meant that at least Will hadn't shut himself in there and taken his own life. It was something that had crossed his mind.

He continued talking. "You know that big crack on the ground in the dining pavilion? That was my doing. When Percy came back from that quest and told me my sister Bianca was dead, I totally lost it and flipped out. So, as long as you haven't made a big crack in the ground in there and pulled skeletons out of it, I think you're doing pretty well."

This time he definitely heard sniffling coming from the other side of the door. He was relieved. At least Will wasn't doing something stupid.

"You know, from what I've heard, she was in a lot of pain. If she was, she's in a better place now. She's not in pain. Trust me, I know where she is. I've been there once or twice. My dad took me to visit. I think it was his version of bonding." He gave a soft laugh. "I guess gods just aren't quite sure how to deal with their children."

He heard the lock on the door turn, but the door didn't open. Nico waited a minute, not wanting to burst in on Will, before slowly standing up and turning the handle.

Opening the door, he poked his head in. Will was curled up on the bed, on top of the covers, facing away from Nico. He stepped in and closed the door with a soft click.

"Lock it please." Will's voice was broken and rough. Nico locked the door.

Approaching the bed, he saw that Will's eyes were red and puffy from crying, and he had tears on his cheeks.

"I tried, Nico. I tried so hard. I didn't want anybody else to have to go through the pain of losing a sibling. Not even a half sibling. But she still- she still died." A sob tore it's way out of Will's throat and Nico felt like small piece of him was dying on the inside. Sitting carefully on the edge of the bed and toeing off his shoes, he put a hand on Will's arm. "I know, Will. That's why we fight. That's why we keep on fighting. And sometimes to win the war, we have to lose a battle. You lost that battle. That's okay. We keep on fighting. Okay?"

Will nodded, tears still running down his cheeks.

"I'm so tired of losing the battles, though. We already won the big war so why do we have to keep fighting the battles?"

"Life is a series of battles and wars," Nico said. "I think it's just to prove how strong we humans are."

Will moved his head until it was resting on Nico's lap, and Nico put a hand on Will's hair and ran his fingers through it. It was something his mother, and Bianca, had done whenever he was upset about something. Will closed his eyes and Nico kept doing it.

Eventually, Will's breathing evened out. Nico smiled at the blond haired boy and leaned down to kiss him on the forehead. "Sweet dreams, Will."

When Will woke, the first thing that came to his mind was the girl he had failed to save. Blinking away tears, he sat up and saw with surprise that Nico was laying next to him, watching him with those dark eyes.

"Feeling better?" the dark haired boy asked and Will remembered what had happened the night before. Then he realized just how much he had been needing that sleep.

"Yeah," he croaked. "What time is it?"

Nico shrugged. "Not sure. You're siblings and I are making you take a day off, so time doesn't really matter. You've got a day to rest."

Will frowned. "But there are other campers I nee-"

Nico put a hand over Will's mouth, effectively silencing him as Will was distracted by the feel of Nico's small, calloused hand on his face.

"You siblings are perfectly capable of taking care of everybody in there and you know it. Besides, they said if there's an emergency, they'll get you immediately. You've been running yourself way too hard. You need a rest. As a doctor, you should know that, dummy."

Will opened his mouth again to protest, but Nico fixed him with a look. "Don't make me use my underworldly powers. I can and I will."

Now it was Will's turn to fix Nico with a look. "You know what'll happen if you use your underworldly powers. You'll melt into a puddle of darkness."

"Then I guess both have to make sure the other doesn't use their powers today."

"Fine." said Will, crossing his arms.

"Wonderful." Nico said, stretching. Will let himself enjoy the view for just a few seconds. "Let's go find something to eat. I have no intention of hanging around this dreary infirmary all day."

Suddenly realizing what Nico had tricked him into, he scowled at the dark haired youth.

"Took you long enough to realize." Nico said with a grin as he stood up off the bed and slipped his shoes on.

"Are you sure your dad is Hades?"

"Would you like to see me prove it?" Nico stared at the floor, although he was really thinking of pancakes, not summoning the dead.

"No no no. That won't be necessary." Will pulled him away. "Let's go find something to eat and get out of this, ah, 'dreary' infirmary."

Nico grinned in triumph and let Will pull him out the door.

Thanks for reading this. please comment, i'd like to know what people think of my writing. thanks!


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